CHAPTER 3. CONCUSSION & SPORT
Former Australian Rules footballer
Ian Prendergast has seen a big
change in attitude to head injuries
since he was playing professionally for
the Carlton Football Club in the early
2000s. “Back in my day, there wasn’t as
much awareness around concussion,” he
says. “It was almost a badge of honour
for players to continue playing after a
serious knock.”
Now, educating coaches and players
about concussion is an integral part
of his working life. After finishing his
career as a player, Prendergast went
on to represent the interests of elite
footballers at state, national and
international levels, first as a general
manager for player relations at the AFL
Players’ Association (AFLPA) and now
as Chief Executive Officer of the Rugby
League Players Association (RLPA).
During his time at the AFLPA, the
association worked closely with the
sporting code to push for a conservative
approach to concussion management
and Prendergast is taking a similar
Players’ Perspectives
IAN PRENDERGAST
CEO, RUGBY LEAGUE
PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
PHOTOGRAPHY DYLAN ROBINSON/NEWSPIX
approach at the helm of the RLPA. “It’s
really our job to continue educating
people about the respect they need to
have for the measures that are being put
in place,” he says.
Another priority is limiting the number
of incidents that go unnoticed or aren’t
properly assessed. “From a health and
safety point of view, there’s a huge
amount of money generated from the
performance of players, so equally
there needs to be a huge amount of
investment in protecting their safety on
the field,” Prendergast says.
These days, players are being forced
to take concussion much more seriously
than they once did. “Now, I think there’s
a greater acceptance of the need to
report any symptoms that may be
linked to concussion so that you can be
properly assessed and removed from the
game if necessary,” Prendergast says,
adding that there is more work to be
done. “We still need to be able to assess
in a more objective way the impact that
concussion is having, both immediately
after the incident, but also with respect
to the recovery and treatment required
to rehabilitate a player.”
Prendergast believes that finding
answers to the unknowns about
concussion is crucial. “Research is key
because knowledge is power,” he says,
“and the more information we discover,
the better informed our approach can be.”
“BACK IN MY DAY, THERE
WASN’T AS MUCH AWARENESS
AROUND CONCUSSION. IT WAS
ALMOST A BADGE OF HONOUR
FOR PLAYERS TO CONTINUE
PLAYING AFTER A SERIOUS
KNOCK.”